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Internet group Anonymous has leaked information from October and November 2011 suggesting that private intelligence firm STRATFOR has been working with Texas law enforcement to infiltrate the Occupy movement and spy on the Deep Green Resistance movement.

In December 2011, Anonymous attacked the STRATFOR website, allegedly stealing 200 gigabytes of data and shutting the site down for weeks. This isn’t the first time Anonymous has gone after such corporations. In early 2011, Anonymous went after internet security firm HBGary, releasing private documents that included secret plans by HBGary and others to attack and discredit Wikileaks on behalf of big banks.

The information released by Anonymous is a partial “teaser” of the information taken from STRATFOR. It consists of emails in which STRATFOR employees discuss Occupy Austin, Deep Green Resistance Austin, and Deep Green Resistance in general. STRATFOR “Watch Officer” Marc Lanthemann writes about receiving information on Occupy Austin and DGR from a “Texas DPS agent.” The Texas Department of Public Safety is a statewide law enforcement agency that includes the Texas Rangers, Highway Patrol, and an Intelligence and Counterterrorism Division.

“Law enforcement sharing information about local activism with private intelligence firms should be a huge scandal,” writes Rachel Meeropol, staff attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights. “Privately funded surveillance and infiltration of activist groups is especially chilling, as time and again we see such corporations operate as if they are above the law and accountable to no one.”

In the emails, the staff discuss how a Texas DPS agent went undercover and tried to gather information from an Occupy Austin General assembly, as well as receiving information from what he calls “my Occupy people” about people they assumed were in Deep Green Resistance. Comments in the email suggest that the agent’s surveillance of Occupy Austin was ongoing and continued past the incidents described. In addition, the Stratfor staff describe doing online research on DGR Austin and Deep Green Resistance more generally. They wrongly described the purpose of a DGR Austin public meeting on what radicalism means for Austin as “indoctrination”; they wrote about the book Deep Green Resistance, and they speculated about the relationship between DGR Austin and other groups.

If there is a silver lining here, it is that the emails we have do not paint a picture of a very competent organization. Between hasty generalizations, the STRATFOR staff get a number of important facts completely wrong. First of all, they confuse members of the DGR action group in Austin (which does exist) with another group they call the “Phoenix commune” (which may or may not exist).

They also allege a conflict between members of the DGR Austin group with Occupy Austin that doesn’t seem to have happened. It’s not clear if this is part of the strategy counterintelligence groups have used in the past to try to provoke conflict between different social movements—the FBI used this very effectively against groups like the Black Panther Party—or whether STRATFOR is simply relying on unreliable or incompetent sources.

Elsewhere STRATFOR displays a perception of radical environmentalism that falls somewhere between muddled and simply wrong. One agent suggests DGR is inspired by Nazism and philosopher Martin Heidegger, while another declares that DGR “is focused on creating a situation where violent confrontation will be the ultimate outcome.” Both of these assertions are just plain false.

There is a long history of clandestine groups releasing secret information about the surveillance of social movements. In 1971, and underground group called the Citizen’s Commission to Investigate the FBI broke into an FBI field office and released thousands of pages of secret information, revealing that the FBI had attacked 1960s social movements with methods ranging from surveillance and infiltration to targeted assassinations. Though we have no contact with Anonymous, their leak of information about government and corporate tactics of repression is part of an important tradition.

The “teaser” can be viewed below and here. More leaked information from STRATFOR is presumably forthcoming.

Below is a photograph of STRATFOR employee Marc Lanthemann (from a social networking profile that is no longer online) so that activists can recognize him; we would suggest that you do not speak with him, allow him in to your home, give him access to meetings, or otherwise provide him or his organization with information.

I guess we could also take a more tactical slant. I’ve seen people talkingabout how this “new movement” is a terrible threat to corporations, but inreality, due to the history of anarchists, animal rights, anti-war andanti-globalization protesters, companies are well prepared for such hippyhijinks.

On 10/16/11 7:10 PM, “scott stewart” wrote:

Is it worth talking about how the occupy wallstreet people are really justretreads from the anarchist movement in the late 1990’s early 2000’s? Italso showed a little bit in the code pink anti war movement in the mid200s.

So it is not a completely new phenomenon, it is just an older phenomenonthat is once again regaining strength.

On 10/16/11 2:57 PM, “Brian Genchur” wrote:

Are there any ideas for a good Dispatch topic for tomorrow?

Will need a thesis and bullets sent to list before tomorrow. Thank you!

It might sound strange, but some of the most radical deep ecology peopleactually believe that there are too many people on the earth and thatradical steps must be taken to reduce the population and save the earth.This strain of deep ecology is a clear reflection of the way the movementwas heavily influenced by people like Martin Heidegger who were alsocommitted to Nazism. Yes, Nazis were radical environmentalists…..

Jesus I spent a couple of hours researching these guys – weird is anunderstatement. Apparently they met yesterday a couple of blocks away frommy house to consolidate their leadership, go through basic indoctrinationand plan more events. As far as I can tell, the Austin chapter is notnearly as radical as the central Lierre Keith DGR whose website is atreasure trove of incitment to passive resistance, blowing up energyinfra, basic counter intel and legal guidance.

Their ideology seems to be a mix of hardcore environmentalism, anarchism,radical feminism and the general notion that we need to go back livingsustainably like the american indians by blowing up every pipeline andcell tower on the planet. Unlike the central DGR, Austin DGR doesn’t seemto have defined targets and goals (their meeting yesterday was abrainstorming session on what radical environmentalism means in Austin).

just a few nice quotes from their central website:

The task of an activist is not to navigate systems of oppressive powerwith as much personal integrity as possible; it is to dismantle thosesystems.

What would we do if Nazis had invaded, and they were vacuuming the oceans,scalping native forests, damming every river, changing the climate, andputting carcinogens into every mother’s breast milk, and into the flesh ofyour children, your lover, your mother, into your own flesh? How muchworse would the damage have to get? Would you resist? If there existed aresistance movement, would you join it?

New source so don’t yet have code or rankings. Source is a Texas DPSagent.

There is a group you may be familiar with called Deep Green Resistance.They are led by (among a number of people) a eco-radical named LierreKeith. She co-wrote the book, Deep Green Resistance: Strategy to Savethe Planet. Very enlightening if you haven’t read it. The movementadvocates the collapse of industrial civilization to reach their ecogoals. In the book, they advocate the use of guerrilla tactics to defeatcurrent institutions when it comes to the environment. Whether anyone inthe Fed or elsewhere classifies this group as eco-terror or not, I don’tknow, but they are nothing but and should be watched.

http://deepgreenresistance.org/

The local Austin chapter was part of the Occupy Austin crowd at cityhall, however, things were not “radical” enough for them since they donot believe in working within the system. When I was working U/C on Nov.5th, some of my contacts told me that at the General Assembly on Nov.4th, there was some conflict between regular Occupy people and DeepGreen. Deep Green picked up all their stuff and left during the night.As best as anyone knows, they left and went to a state park off 71. Theonly place I know is McKinney Falls out in that area. They have starteda group called the “Phoenix Commune” and intend to make their base outthere, living off the land, so to speak. My source says they told himthat as long as they move 10′ everyday, the park officials can’t makethem leave. These Deep Green people worry me. When my Occupy peoplerefer to them as “stupid, crazy motherfuckers”, that bothers me, becausethese Occupy people will tolerate just about anything.

I passed the info on to locals and since the park is way outside thecomplex, I haven’t done any follow up other than to keep an eye and earopen for anything they may plan for the complex.

Early on in the Occupy movement, they got the group to support somedocument called, “Indigenous Struggle Solidarity Statement” callingAustin an occupied territory. It includes a picture of armed nativeAmericans.